The Big Owl

A third variant of Kawano's Big Owl composition, this impression underscores the subject's significance within his bird print series. The existence of three extant versions confirms the owl design among his more commercially and artistically productive subjects outside the figure category. This variant likely differs from the others in its color palette: the owl's plumage might shift from warm buff and brown tones to cooler gray-whites, or the background ground color might change from deep blue-black to a warmer dark hue. Kawano's direct control over all stages of printing—inking the blocks himself—meant each version represented a fresh set of deliberate decisions about color mixing and application. The owl's fundamental form, established by the carved keyblock, remains consistent across all three versions, providing structural continuity while the color variants allow the composition to function as a distinct work in each state.